Every once in a while a huge new TTRPG debuts, and everyone wonders what the fuss was about. This is a bit like that. The Cosmere Stormlight Starter Set debuted due to the absolutely massive Kickstarter about a year ago. Needless to say, anything with Brandon Sanderson’s name attached, incorporating all of his various Cosmere mythologies, was bound to be a sure thing.

The Cosmere Stormlight Starter Set is the first of several settings-specific TTRPGs set in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight book universe. The set itself is very professionally produced, with a solid box, beautiful maps, colorful tokens, PC sheets, very nice polyhedral dice, slow/fast turn cards and two books, one for the basic rules and the other an introductory adventure called Bridge Nine. The paper quality is good, the layout is a cross between modern D&D 5.5e and Cypher (but without the useful side references common in Cypher rulebooks).

The developers decided to use the 5e and Pathfinder 2e systems as the basis for this game. While the game has a heavy narrative focus, it can be quite tactical during combat. There are classes and levels, with a few differences to give it some flavor. Most of the general rules will be familiar to D&D players – d20 to hit, rolled damage, DCs for skill checks, conditions, similar monster stat blocks, etc. – with the game’s action economy similar to the excellent three-action per turn system from P2e. The 58-page rule book focuses on characters at 1st level (although a table for advancement indicates PCs can advance using the full rules to level 21+), so as you would expect a lot of the detail and world lore is missing, included in the hardcover Stormlight World Guide and Stormlight Handbook, available separately.

The Cosmere-specific additions include:

• a d6 Plot die, which can be rolled during dramatic scenes to add positive or negative consequences for the PC/party e.g.aiding or hindering an ally, recovering or losing a focus point (see below), making a normal attack a critical hit, influencing the narrative.
• the six PC statistics (a close match for the D&D/P2e characteristics) have three sub-stats for physical, cognitive and spiritual defense.
• Focus points and Investiture points, meta-currency pools to power your Talents (feats) and magic, respectively.
• Slow and fast turns – players electing a fast turn go first in combat and have two actions, those electing a slow turn get three actions. Some actions talents cost more than a single action, so combat rewards those who take a tactical approach.

Overall, I’d say the systems are an improvement over 5e and 5.5e, but I still prefer P2e overall (just my personal preference). The rules will be easy to pick up for a player who is familiar with D&D or P2e. D&D players may find they prefer this system. Please note there is no magic use in the Cosmere Stormlight Starter Set, because players don’t get to choose a Radiant path until later on (covered in the hardcover rule book).

The 40-page Bridge Nine adventure is an introduction to the systems in the rule book – there’s some combat encounters, a bit of travel, a bit of exploration and a social encounter. Overall the adventure is quite short. The illustrations are fantastic, but it’s a bit average. It does what it needs to do, introducing the rules and setting, but don’t expect too much.

The Cosmere Stormlight Starter Set is a good introduction to Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight universe. The production, layout and art are top-tier, and the systems are familiar enough to pull in most fantasy TTRPG players with enough difference to add to the experience. As to whether your players like it, that depends on whether they love Brandon Sanderson’s books or not (I have two particular players who would lap this game right up).

Here’s a video showing the components and contents:

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